Aerosol valve unit



Dec

17, 1968 D. B. GREEN AEROSOL VALVE UNIT Filed Jan. ll, 1967 UnitedStates Patent O 3,416,770 AEROSOL VALVE UNIT Derek B. Green, Manchester,N.H., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., acorporation of Connecticut Filed Jan. 11, 1967, Ser. No. 608,690 6Claims. (Cl. 251-303) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An aerosol valve unitcomprising a one-piece molded plastic member including a valve head, aspring housing, and an annular fluid receiving chamber outwardly of thespring housing, with a dip tube connection.

This invention relates to aerosol valve units adapted to be attached tothe open top of a container.

An important object of the invention is to provide a valve unit whichcan be manufactured more economically, To this end, the assemblyinvolves a reduced number of parts, the complete unit requiring onlyfour parts; namely: the metal mounting cup, the sealing washer orgasket, a one-piece member molded from plastic material and a spring.

Other assemblies of this general nature involved at least two separateplastic moldings-one for a valve head and stem and another for a valvehousing and spring retainer.

Another object of the invention is to provide an irnproved unit whereinthe spring can be more easily assembled and after assembly, is open tovisual inspection in contrast with prior assemblies of this type wherethe spring was completely concealed after assembly making it ditiicultto detect defective spring mountings.

It is a further object to provide an improved valve unit which willincorporate the advantages above referred to in an assembly which isadapted for quick pressure iilling in the same manner as disclosed inthe patent to Briechle 3,15 8,298.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown for purposes of illustration,one embodiment which the invention may assume in practice. In thedrawing:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through only a portion of a containerequipped with my improved valve unit;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are vertical sections showing the closed and openpositions, respectively, of the valve;

FIG. 4 is a central section of a modified form of valve unit indicatingthe closed position of the valve;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the one-piece molded plastic member; and

FIG. 6 is a detail of the spring in plan and side elevation.

The aerosol container 7 may be of any known type having a rolled bead 8.The sheet metal mounting cup is of the usual construction having abottom wa-ll 9, an outer wall 10, a rim 11 rolled over and sealed to thebead 8 and a central pedestal portion 12. The top wall 13 of thepedestal portion 12 is preferably iiat and has a central opening 14.

The one-piece plastic member combines the functions of the valve memberand the valve housing in prior constructions as exemplified by theabove-mentioned Briechle patent. The valve head portion may be describedas having a seal rim 15, a bottom wall 16 and a hollow stem 17 projectsupwardly from the bottom 16. A sealing washer 18 of suitable elastomericmaterial is seated against the undersurface of the mounting cup top wall13 and the hole 19 in the washer is aligned with the central opening 14and sized so as to tit in liuid tight relation with the 3,416,770Patented Dec. 17, 1968 ICC valve stem 17. Below the valve head proper isthe spring housing 20 having an outer peripheral wall 21 which is thinenough to be exible.

The spring housing has a large bottom opening 22 with only a narrowinternal shoulder 23 for supporting a spring 24. The spring 24 ispreferably of the coned disc type, sometimes called a Belleville spring.It may have a central 'hole 25 fitting around a protuberance 26 and alsoradial slots 27 to increase the flexibility of the spring.

The plastic member has a comparative thick outer peripheral wall 28spaced from the seal rim 15 and the spring housing wall 21 to form anannular fluid chamber 29 normally closed at the top by the sealingwasher 18. This outer wall 28 is joined to the bottom of the springhousing 20 by a transverse wall 30. The outer surface of the wall 28 hasthe flutes 31 which connect with an annular recess 32 around the outeredge of the washer 18.

It will be noted that the hole 14 in the cup is somewhat larger than thediameter of the stern 17 so that when fluid is introduced lunderpressure through this opening, the sealing washer 18 may move downwardlyagainst the force of spring 24 and permit fast iiow over the top of thewasher, through the recess 32 and the liutes 31.

The assembly is held together by suitable indentations 33 -near thebottom of the pedestal portion 12, such indentations engaging under thecorner 34 of the outer wall 28.

Rather than having a central dip tube connection which would interferewith access to the spring housing, I have provided a downwardlyextending tubular nipple 35 located to the outside of the springIhousing 20 and having a passage 36 at its lower end which joins anupper e-lliptical opening 36a (see FIG. 5) preferably leading directlyinto the annular chamber 29. In order to keep the nipple 35 completelyaway from the line of the spring housing 20, the passage 36 is arrangedeccentrically to the bottom portion 37 of the connection which must besized to tit the dip tube 38.

The valve is intended primarily -to be operated by tiltaction. Theannular chamber 29 extends completely around the peripheral wall portion21 so that the valve stem and head can be tilted in any direction. Asseen in FIG. 3, the flexible Wall 21 bends inwardly enough to break theseal at 39 between the valve head and sealing washer, thus allowing uidto flow into the valve stern 17 through one or more lateral openings 40in the stem.

The modification shown in FIG. 4 indicates that instead of the verticalflexible wall 24, there may be provided an outwardly and downwardlyflaring wall 21 which will tend to buckle more easily than a straightvertical wall. Such flared wall extends around the spring housing allthe way except at the region of the dip tube passage 36a. With thisamodiiied Construction, an operating button 42 on the end of the valvestem may be arranged to tilt the valve in the direction away from thedip tube to obtain the easiest action.

It will now be observed that I have provided an improved valve unitwhich is economical to manufacture not only because of a reduced numberof parts, but also because lthe spring can easily be unt in place by anendwise snap action, and once assembled, the spring is open to view sothat any improper or defective assemblies may be readily detected.

What I clairn is:

1. An aerosol valve unit adapted for attachment to the open top of acontainer comprising:

(a) a mounting cup with a cent-ral pedestal portion having `a top wallwith a centrally arranged opening therethrough;

(b) an elastomeric sealing Washer seated against the undersurface ofsaid top wall with the hole in the washer aligned with said opening;

(c) a `one-piece molded plastic member which has a valve head normallyseated against the underside of said washer, a hollow valve sternextending upwardly from said head through the hole in said washer andthrough said opening, a spring housing below said head and having afiexible peripheral wall, said housing having a relatively large bottomopening, an outer peripheral wall joined to lthe bottom of said housingand spaced radially from said valve head and from said spring housing todefine an annular fluid receiving chamber, a dip tube connectioncornmunicating with said chamber and located radially outwardly fromsaid bottom opening in the spring housing;

(d) a spring supported in said housing and bearing against said head forurging it into sealing engagement with said Washer;

(e) means providing communication between said annular chamber and theinterior of said hollow valve stem when said stem is tilted to break theseal between said valve head and washer; and

(f) means on said pedestal portion of the 'mounting cup for anchoringsaid molded plastic member there- 2. An aerosol valve unit as defined inclaim 1 wherein a series of vertical flutes are provided around saidouter wall of the molded plastic member.

3. An aerosol valve unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said spring is ofthe coned disc type having its outer rim bearing on an internalvshoulder at the bottom of said valve housing, the central portion ofsaid spring bearing against the underside of said valve head.

4. An aerosol valve unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said valve headhas a circular seal rim spaced outwardly from said valve stem andwherein said flexible wall of the valve housing is in substantialvertical alignment with said rim.

5. An aerosol valve unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said lieXibleouter wall of the valve housing flares outwardly and downwardly aroundthe major portion of the spring housing.

6. An aerosol valve unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said dip tubeconnection has a passage leading directly downwardly from said annularchamber, said passage having a center line offset radially inwardly fromthe center line of the bottom portion of said connection and wherein adip tube is fitted around said bottom portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,582,262 1/1952 Loven et al.251-349 X 3,158,298 11/1964 Briechle 251-353 X ARNOLD ROSENTHAL, PrimaryExaminer.

U.S. C1. X.R.

